How It's Supposed To Be
by crazyanimelover98
Summary: Edward is stuck in an abusive relationship and only one person can get close enough to help him get out of it.
1. Chapter 1

Sixteen-year-old Edward examined his right arm. Said arm was stretched upwards, whether reaching for the sky, some unreachable goal, dream, or simply nothing at all he didn't know.

His dull, half lidded, golden eyes scanned up and down his arm, catching every black and blue mark that marred his slightly creamy skin. Edward also took notice of the various sizes of the bruises. Most ranged from the size of thumb prints to an entire hand, both of which were a little larger than his own. He added them up to a grand total of seven, but he knew there were most likely more on his other arm.

Those were just the limbs, which he used to try to prevent the ten, foot-sized bruises that now mar his abdominal area. As you can tell, he failed.

They hurt like a bitch but Ed gladly took that over one of his ribs being broken, which thankfully none were. Pain and discomfort were easier to hide than a broken bone or an entire limb.

Edward's golden locks of hair, once pulled back into a neat braid, which ended at the middle of his back, now lay in a tangled mess on his red covered pillow. The only thing that held the chaotic clumps of hair together was the brown hair tie at the end of it all.

_How had this happened?_ He asked himself. _When had it all tumbled down to this? Why had he let this happen without his noticing it before it was far too late?_

"It's not fair," Edward mumbled to himself aloud.

Suddenly he was dragged from his thoughts by a timid knock on his door, a knock, which could only come from his younger brother, Alphonse.

Said brother opened the door slowly, and peeked his head of, short, sandy blonde hair inside the door.

He smiled softly as his gray eyes found Ed lying on his bed, and said, "Brother, you're home. If I'd known you were back I would've come in sooner, but mom and I didn't hear you come in."

Edward sat up and smiled, what he hoped to be convincingly at his brother.

"No problem Al," he said, " I should have said something."

He then silently patted an empty spot right next to him on his bed. Alphonse's smile grew wider and he all but ran to sit by his older brother.

Sitting side-by-side like this with his brother reminded Edward of how tall Al was. Yes, he would admit (to himself and himself only) that he was almost a full head shorter than his brother whom he was a year older than, but because it was Alphonse, he supposed he'd be okay with it.

They sat in silence for a little while, when Al decided to break it.

"So, how'd the date go?" he asked.

Edward's peaceful smile shattered right before his brother's eyes, and a look of sadness and fear replaced it.

Or, at least, that's what Al thought he saw. Ed recovered too quickly for him to be one hundred percent sure. One thing was for sure though. Whatever expression was on his face just now wasn't a good one, Edward's now _noticeably _fake smile was proof enough for that.

"Yeah, I had fun. Of course I had fun! Why'd you ask?" Edward responded all too quickly.

"I didn't," Al replied, "I only asked how it went."

Shit.

"Umm…"

"Was it Envy? Is he-"

"No!" Ed interrupted suddenly, " I mean, he's gotten much better. You have nothing to worry about."

Edward was lying. Alphonse could see that. Then again, his brother was never a very good liar. It went against Ed's morals to lie, so he only did so in emergencies. Whenever he did lie about something it showed all over his face, so he did it as little as possible.

That's why Al didn't say anything about it. He knew that even if he did mention it Ed would just deny it. Besides, based off of his older brother's behavior, he knew enough.

"Okay," Alphonse said, "but you know you can tell me if something's bothering you right? Just because I'm younger than you doesn't mean I won't know how to help."

At this, Ed smiled (genuinely this time) softly at him. His younger brother was so sweet, so kind, so innocent. He'd always been that way. Edward promised himself long ago that he'd protect that innocence as long as he possibly could.

_That's why I can't tell you_.

"I know Al," Ed said quietly, "don't worry so much. I'm fine alright."

Alphonse eyed his brother worriedly for a moment. As mentioned before, he knew his brother wasn't telling him everything. However he knew that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of him now… but he knew someone who could.

Alphonse smiled to himself due to the sudden epiphany. He knew better than to let Edward see it, though, he may get suspicious, but _god _was it killing him not to smile openly right then!

"Okay brother," he said, maintaining his concerned-younger-brother voice perfectly, "I'll just go tell mom you're home." With that, he all but ran out the door of his brother's bedroom.

It wasn't a total lie. Alphonse planned on letting their mother know that his brother had returned home, right after the very important phone call he was about to make anyway.

Immediately after exiting Ed's room, Alphonse sped off to his, grabbed his old flip phone (Why text when you could just talk to the person on the other line and hold twice the conversation?) and rapidly dialed a number.

After a grand total of two rings, he'd counted, the other line was picked up and deep, male, voice said, "Hello?"

"Hey," Al replied, " It's me, I think something's wrong with Edward…"

Edward watched as his brother walked out of the room. Had he been his usual self, he would've seen that Alphonse was clearly hiding something. He'd have stopped his younger brother at the door and demanded he told him what he was thinking.

However, none of this happened. He just watched as Al walked out his bedroom door, and closed it behind him. There was no order for the younger of the two to stop, nor was there an interrogation of his thoughts, he didn't even cross his mind that Al might be hiding something. Ed just watched with silent eyes left the room, still on his bed.

Even he doesn't know how long he stayed on that bed, laying down and staring at nothing, until finally he stopped staring and saw nothing but the back of his eyelids.

**Hello peoples, so this's my second attempt at my first multi-chap fic. Thanks to everyone who backed up the decision, and to anyone who's reading this for the first time, don't worry you didn't miss anything really. just "setting the story strait" as you might say ;3 **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hey peoples I forgot to mention that, in this story, Edward still has both arms, and you can assume that everyone is in high school unless otherwise mentioned. Trisha (Ed and Al's mom) is still alive in this, but Hoenhiem is gone.**

**Also I just want to mention that I will update whenever I can, but with school that probably won't be a whole lot (however,I am REALLY sorry for the updates taking forever). But I intend to finish **_**every **_**story I start. No unfore-warned hiatus or anything like that. But updates may be far in between so please be prepared.**

**Okay, I think that's it for now, thank you to any who decided to actually read this :3. Anyway, on with the story.**

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Edward didn't know how long he was asleep for, but he definitely knew that it wasn't nearly long enough to be woken up by an incessant and _very _annoying _tapping _noise.

Cursing under his breath, Ed sat up and sluggishly made his way to his bedroom window, which was _still _being tapped on mind you. Begrudgingly, he unlatched it and pushed the frame up just enough to stick his head through. He then leaned over and was about to tell whoever it was to go away, when suddenly his face was met with a rock

The person below winced slightly as the head of golden hair which had previously been out the window disappeared from view with a deep _thud. _After a few seconds of silence, he heard some muffled curses and saw the blond's head pop out again. This time with about a half-fist-sized knot on his head, and a look of even more murderous intent on his face.

The boy standing outside the house did what anyone would've done at such a sight... he began laughing.

"The hell are you laughing at you damn bastard?!" Ed shouted, "You could've killed me Roy!"

It took a little bit for Roy's chuckles to subside enough to say a coherent sentence. Even then all, he got passed his lips was, "Sorry Ed - *giggle* - . If you weren't so - *haha* - short I would've seen you - *sinker*- better -*ahaha!*"

"What was that you egotistical bastard!?"

"Oh? So now you're too tiny to understand what I'm saying? You should really see a doctor about that Ed, shrinking this fast can't be very healthy for you."

At this point, Ed was seething with anger, that he couldn't respond (he was too busy killing Roy Mustang about a thousand times in his head by now). After a few minutes of glaring lasers at the ebony haired seventeen year old, he finally huffed out;

"Is there a reason you came here and woke me up at * paused to check his clock* 11:30 on a damn school night, or do you just like being an ass like that?"

"Nah I'm just awesome," Roy replied, "So, you gonna let me up or what?"

"And why would I let an obnoxious bastard like you in my house when I could easily ignore you and go back to sleep?"

Roy put his hand on his heart and put a look of mock-hurt in his coal colored eyes.

"That hurt Ed," he said now smirking a bit, "I thought we were friends."

Now it was Ed's turn to chuckle.

"Ling and Winry are my friends," he said, "you, Roy Mustang, are not."

"Really?" Roy inquired with honest curiosity, "then what am I?"

He watched as Edward smirked smugly then once again disappeared from sight, leaving Roy staring up at the now empty window confusedly. Soon his attention was turned by a noise at Ed's front door.

There stood the blond haired boy with his arms crossed in front of him, leaning against the door frame with a smile on his face. The knot formed by the rock surprisingly seemed to have disappeared.

"An emotionally bankrupt, womanizer, with a god complex," Ed answered. "Now get in here, but be quiet. Everyone's asleep, and I don't want them waking up and getting the wrong idea."

"And just what might that be Ed?" Roy asked, his trademark smirk creeping it's way back onto his face.

The only reply he got for it, though, was Ed glaring at him over his shoulder, and a nice little birdy flipped at him.

Quietly, the pair made it up a set of stairs and down the hall to Ed's room. Ed couldn't stop smiling the whole way. He enjoyed spending time with Roy, even if he could be a bastard sometimes. Although, he'd rather shoot himself then say that to Roy's face, which is why he made sure to stay in the front at all times so he couldn't see Ed's smile.

When they got to Ed's room they sat down on Ed's bed. Well... Ed sat down, Roy kind of just flopped down on it and stayed that way.

"You got enough room you bastard starfish?" Ed asked in a voice laced with sarcasm. Catching this in the smaller male's voice, Roy smirked and replied, "Of course I've got enough room, you're way too short to take up too much space."

Oh_,_ if _only _his family wasn't sleeping! However, it was just Roy, and there way no way in hell Ed was going to give that smug bastard the satisfaction of an outburst...

"I mean look at you," Roy continued, "you're hardly the size of my little finger."

_Alright, that's it!_

With an raging huff, Ed pounced into action aiming for the lounging, older, ebony-haired boy. Roy had expected this (sooner actually, he was surprised Ed had managed to keep it together passed the first insult) and rolled away in time. Not being one to back down from a challenge, though, he then jumped on Ed. However, he'd forgotten to think about how close to the edge of the bed Ed happened to be on. So they both ended up on the floor in a rather...interesting position. Which included Ed's back to the floor, Roy straddling his hips, the blonde's arms sprawled above him, the coal-eyed boy's upper half hovering ever so closely, and blushes so red a tomato would be jealous.

They stayed like that, neither of them speaking a word. Then Roy started laughing. Laughing so hard he had to actually roll off of Ed to avoid squishing him.

Cautiously and curiously, Ed sat up and looked at the older male with a _What the Hell? _expression etched onto his face.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

It actually was a few minutes before Roy could actually answer. Even then, the only reply he got was a giggly "Nothing Ed, nothing".

At this, Ed scuffed and moved to get up with a, "Whatever you damn bast-augh!"

The added pressure to his arms, which were still feeling the beating they took earlier that day, proved too much. But then-again, you bash your arm into a wall as hard as you can about twenty times, fall on it, then try to put all your weight on it, see if you can make it off the ground. Speaking of the ground, he could feel himself falling to it. Ed knew he'd end up with a good sized mark on his face after this. The blond winced and braced for impact, and nothing happened.

Opening his eyes slowly to investigate just why he hadn't collided with the wood-planked floor, his golden orbs were met with coal-colored ones.

Ed had never actually seen Roy's eyes this close before. They'd known each other forever, but they'd never really been this close to one another. Looking at them now, Ed had to admit they were pretty. No wonder women found him attractive...

_Wait, WHAT!_

Once again, Ed's face turned quite a few shades of red and he shuffled out of Roy's hold. The older boy just stayed where he was and stared at him. The expression was near unreadable. The conversation he'd had with Alphonse replaying in his head.

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey," Al said, "It's me, I think something's wrong with Edward. I'm not sure what it is, but I think he's hiding something from me."_

_Roy had to mentally tell himself to calm down. Al was, although, a little soft spoken, a person who knew how to handle a situation. If he was worried about his brother, then everyone else sure as hell ought to be worried too. However, Roy knew he had to keep calm._

"_He sounds fine to me. Just because he's not telling you something doesn't mean that something's necessarily wrong."_

"_It's not like that. Brother tells me __everything__, and not only that, but he' been acting different lately. He's so quiet now, it's not like him,and he's always in his room these days! You must have noticed that too."_

_He had. _

"_Nope, but tell you what. I'll come over later to talk to him if it'll make you feel better."_

"_It really would help. Thank you Roy."_

"_No problem Alphonse."_

'So he's keeping things from his own brother, and now me...' Roy thought

"Ed," he said slowly, "let me see your arm."

"What?!" the blond exclaimed, "W-why would you need me to do that?"

_Okay...now he really wanted to see Ed's arm._

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just...don't like the idea of a bastard like you invading my personal space is all..."

"That was an excuse, a bad one, and you know it Ed! Now let me see your arm!"

"You can't tell me what to do in my own house! Why do you want to see so badly anyway?"

Both boys were yelling now, completely forgetting the other two in the house, somehow still sleeping peacefully.

"If you have nothing to hide Ed," Roy said in a low, slightly frustrated voice, "Then show me your arm, and prove to me I shouldn't be worried."

"You shouldn't be, and you aren't so quit pretending! It's none of your business what goes on in my life so keep out!"

That was it. It had finally reached the point where Roy couldn't take anymore.

He reached out his hand to Ed, and grabbed his sweater. Then, in one fluid motion, he pulled the younger boy to his chest and locked him into a tight embrace. Leaving Ed too stunned to move.

'What is this?' he found himself thinking, 'it doesn't feel nearly this...good when Envy does this.' Reflexively, Ed pulled himself closer to Roy's chest. It felt so good.

"Don't say that." Roy said in a voice with so much emotion there was no pin-pointing which stood out, "Don't you ever think I don't care about you Edward. You're my friend, it should be obvious that I care a whole hell of a lot about you, and I don't like seeing you like this. So sad and in pain. I'll be damned if I just sit back and watch it go on. Al's noticed too you know. He's worried too."

_Well...that was a lot to take in..._

They stayed like that. To this day neither know for how long.

"Alright", Ed's voice broke the silence, "alright you god damned bastard-*was his voice trembling?*- I'll show you. Just remember you asked for it, okay?"

Roy nodded his head, and Ed pulled away not daring to meet Roy's gaze.

Ever so slowly, he brought his arm down, and drew his sleeve up...


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer! : I don't own any of the characters from FMA... There I said it you dream killing corporate leeches T_T**

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Of all the emotions Ed expected to see on Roy's face, no expression at all wasn't one of them. As the sleeve of his red hoody was pulled up and thee bruises from earlier that day were exposed, The older boy just stared at them. His face completely blank.

Ed was beginning to get worried. He'd lose it if Roy didn't say something, _do_ something soon.

_What the hell is he thinking about right now?!_

The silence that, once again, rang between the two of them seemed to go on forever. Ed barely able to breath, and Roy seeming as if not needing to. The intensity of the older, ebony haired boy's gaze seemed to bore holes into Ed's abused arm.

Finally the strained silence was broken, again by Roy's voice.

"Are there more?"

Ed could've sworn he felt his hair stand-on-end. Not at the words in particular, but in the way Roy said them. They were quiet yes, but held such murderous intent... in all the time he'd known the other boy he'd never heard anything close to this!

Out of pure bewilderment, Edward was unable to reply or even pay attention to the statement itself.

"Edward!" Roy growled, "are there more?!"

After jumping slightly, Ed took a deep,_deep_ , breath effectively calming himself. He then nodded, slowly and reluctantly.

"Show me."

"No."

"What?!"

"You aren't thinking straight right now. Before I tell or show you anything else, I'm gonna need you to calm down."

"Calm down? What do you mean calm down Ed?! I don't even get how you're so calm about this! Your entire arm is covered in bruises which, apparently, you have more of!"

"Roy," Edward was now gripping the older teen's arm, "please, just calm down."

The look in his eyes, Roy didn't like it on Ed. He looked scared, and that didn't suit him at all. However it was that look of pleading, need, and fear that made him shove all other thoughts aside, and pull the little blond boy into another, softer embrace.

"I'm sorry," Roy said softly, "I didn't mean to scare you." He pulled away but held on to Edward's shoulders, not painfully, but firm enough to keep him in place.

"I need to know now, Ed. What happened, who did it, everything."

"No," Ed said again, "you don't." Still, he couldn't meet Roy's eyes. He knew that if he looked into those never ending pools of ebony, he'd spill. Completely break down, maybe even cry. He refused to cry, especially in front of Roy.

Roy, not being one to back down, tried a different approach.

"Well could you at least show me the others? You don't have to tell me who did it *it was near impossible for him to grind that out of his mouth, but he managed somehow*if you don't want to, but I at least need to see what happened."

"Why?" Ed asked.

"I told you, because I care about you."

Edward gasped at that. He loved the way Roy said that. So sincere, so honest, so...loving.

'It would be alright then,' Ed thought, 'if I did this.'

Without a word, Edward leaned into Roy and... rested his head on the older boy's shoulder (A/N: haha, no kiss for you guys yet ;). His hands curled in the fabric of Roy's shirt. This time it was Roy's hands that were hesitantly wrapped around the smaller blonde's back. Ed couldn't help but notice how nice it was. How natural it felt.

_No, wait...bad thoughts..._

Edward pulled away and backed up a few steps.

"Okay Roy," he said, "I'll show you. Just please promise me something."

"Anything Ed."

"Don't tell anyone...please..."

With that, Edward took off his red sweater and the shirt beneath it, and there they were. All the black and blue spots covering the young boy's torso up.

Once again, Edward would not allow himself to look up. He was sure he'd be met only by Roy's look of disgust, or worse pity. And a look of disgust was there upon Roy's features. But not directed towards Ed. No, never Ed. Only at the mere thought of someone even _thinking_ about harming someone like Edward both sickened, and enraged him all the more.

When he found them, oh lordy when he found the person or person_s_ responsible-

"Roy?"

At the mention of his name, Roy's eyes pulled themselves away from the bruises and rested on Ed, who still refused to make eye contact.

"They're hideous, aren't they?" Ed asked slowly.

Struggling to keep calm, all Roy could manage was, "There's just...so many..."

"I know."

"How? Who?"

"I can't tell you."

"Damn it Ed, why the hell not? You keep showing me and telling me about things, no, people who're hurting you and you think I won't demand to know who they are?!"

"I knew you'd act this way, that's why I never showed you anything like this 'till now! That's why I still haven't told Al!"

" 'till now'? How long has this been going on?!"

Edward stiffened at the question.

_Shit!_

"That's none of your business! You wanted me to show you so I did. That's all you're getting out of me!"

"How many times do I have to tell you Edward?! You're my friend that makes it my business. What I can't understand is why you've been letting that bastard get away with this for who knows how long!"

"Don't say that about him!"

That was all Roy needed to hear. He knew who it was.

"Envy?" he asked to which Ed visibly flinched. He realized his slip up too late.

"You mean Envy's been the one hurting you?!"

"It's not his fault!"

"Not his fault?! Ed, he's freaking _abusing_ you!"

"It's not like that Roy! Please just forget bout it."

"You can't just expect me to stand idly by as my friend gets abused by his own boyfriend!"

"I am and you will. You promised me, god damn it you'll hold to that promise Mustang!"

"..."

'shit'

Roy had no way to argue with this. He knew that if he told anyone now, or took any course of action at all, Edward would hate him forever. But surely Ed's well being was more important.

'No,' Roy thought, 'in order for anyone to be able to do anything, Ed would have to admit that he's being abused. At this rate, that's not happening anytime soon. Meaning, even if I were to report this, the authorities could do nothing and I'd lose Ed forever. Damn you Envy...'

At this point, Roy was literally shaking with anger. How could he be so useless?!

With a, heavy, reluctant sigh of defeat, Roy said,"Fine. I won't tell anyone."

_'But i __wil__l find someway to bring you out of this Ed. I promise'_ he added silently.

With a smile, that almost reached what was once it's full shine, Edward hugged Roy once more and said, "Thank you."

Soon afterwards, Ed fell asleep in that position. Still inside Roy's arms, with a peaceful smile on his face. Roy, however, fell asleep with a look of anger, frustration, and concern upon his. Needless to say, he didn't get a very good night's rest that evening.

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**A/N: I'm kinda afraid that I made this chapter seem really drawn out and repetitive. Your thoughts please (editorial-like reviews are welcomed and appreciated but don't be cruel about it please :3). Also, I want to say thank you to all the fallows and reviewers so far. I mean, for just three chapters in that's a lot of people for me :D.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: If I owned FMA you wouldn't even be able to recognize it ;) Meaning that I obviously don't.**  
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Ever since the incident in Ed's room, Roy had been sticking close to him. Not so much that the small blond was uncomfortable, but Envy was beginning to take notice. Whenever he saw Ed as of late, Roy had been either right by him or off to the side somewhere. He hadn't spent any time alone with Ed since the last date they'd been on, and that was three days ago. Needless to say the green haired delinquent wasn't very happy about that. It was like the ebony haired kid was watching them.

'_Watching __**me**_ i_s more like it.'_ he found himself thinking, '_Why so clingy all of a sudden?'_

This continued for another week or so, and it was the best week and a half of Ed's life. Envy hadn't been able to have any alone time with him, meaning he'd been bruise free for an entire eight days! As a bonus, Roy had been less of a bastard lately. Sure he'd still through Ed a comment about his...height deficiency, but that was normal for them. He'd actually enjoyed having Roy close to him. They'd walk to classes together, Roy started eating lunch with him and his boyfriend, they'd even started walking to and from school at the same time now (they lived in the same neighborhood, but Ed normally walked home with either Al or Envy).

Ever since he'd started dating Russell, even before things got...violent, he noticed that he'd hadn't had a whole lot of time to spend with Roy. Now that he thought about it he'd hadn't hung out with any of his friends, or even his brother in a long time. Not Ling, not Al, not Winry, no one! He'd have to make plans for all of them to go somewhere together soon, and catch up on what he'd missed out on.

'_I wonder if Ling and Lan-fan are dating yet...'_ he thought absently.

Sadly, most good things must, eventually, come to an end. And what an end this time of happiness would crumble to...

It was at precisely two weeks from the day Roy had begun hanging out with Ed, and Envy simply could not take it any more.

At the end of school that day, Envy saw Ed walking with Roy out of the building on their way home.

"Ed," he called catching their attention *was that a glare on Roy's face?*. He, then, jogged up to the both of them.

"Hey, Ed, how about walking home with me today? I actually need to talk to you about something," he said smiling.

Anyone else may have been fooled, but Roy knew better. He wasn't about to let Ed go without at least some resistance.

"Why the need for privacy?" he said with a smirk plastered to his face, " Anything you want Ed to hear I'm sure is good for ears like mine too."

" Any other time I'm sure you'd be right, except for the fact that he's _my _boyfriend," Russell replied, sounding to anyone but Roy and Ed like a light, playful come back.

Edward then chuckled nervously.

"H-Hey, hey. Let's calm down guys alright," he said with the first fake smile he'd needed for a while (Roy noticed).

The little blond turned to his ebony haired friend.

"It's fine Roy, I am dating him after all right?"

Ed then turned to Envy.

"I'm sorry I haven't been spending a hell of a lot of time with you lately. Just been...busy, yah know?"

"That doesn't answer my question Ed," the other replied suddenly serious.

Shit...he must be getting _pissed._

Ed gulped involuntarily.

_Damn, looked like being sweet wasn't gonna cut it this time..._

However he kept his fake smile intact.

"Well, if you wanna get straight to the point, then 'yes Envy you can walk me home today,'" he said a bit sarcastically for appearance sake. He then (reluctantly mind you) left Roy's side to join his boyfriend. He'd actually meant to talk with Envy alone for a little while anyway, however he'd just...never gotten to it?

_Yeah, too busy cowering in fear at what you know has to be said._

God Ed hated that damned voice in his head sometimes...

'Oh well,' he thought to himself, 'now or never right?'

Ed looked over his shoulder at Roy who watched as they walked in the other direction, and gave him what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. He then mouthed "_I'll be okay". _Roy mouthed "_Be careful" _in return. Ed sent a subtle nod the older boy's way, and then turned to face the other direction.

Roy watched them until they'd gone out of his line of sight.

'He'll be fine,' he tried reassuring himself, 'he'll be okay'.

Unable to find the will to move any further from Ed than he already was as the short blond and his bastard "boyfriend" walked ever further away, he stayed put. Just stood there, facing the direction the two other boys had gone. And he felt like shit because of it. He should be doing _something_ right? Not just standing still like an idiot.

Yet he still didn't move.

Roy didn't know how long he stood there. He was too occupied trying to convince himself that he'd made the right choice.

'He'll be fine,' he repeated over and over again in his mind, however never really believing it, 'He'll be okay, he'll be just...oh no...shit'

Suddenly, the teen was hit with a horribly foreboding feeling. His chest seemed to burn right over the area of his heart.

_Oh dear god what have I done?!_

With no further thought, Roy shot in the direction Ed and his green haired boyfriend had gone. Silently praying to the god he didn't believe in that he wasn't too late.

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**That seemed a bit short...oh well, sorry the next one will be longer. Sorry that sorry excuse of a chapter took so long to post. Momentary writers block...**  
**Anyway, I've set up a poll on my profile, would you guys please take a look at it? It's about future stories I wanna try writing after this one ( I won't tell you how many more chapters I'm planning on writing for this story, but it's not a whole lot that's for sure). So yeah, take a look at it if you can and place your vote if you want.**  
**Also I wanna just say, again, thank you guys so much for the reviews :) They are read and appreciated all of them. So, um...just thanks so much, if it weren't for the reviews and fallows and favorites I probably would've let the story drop a while ago.**  
**Wow...long A/N...anyway hope you enjoyed I'll get the next chapter up ASAP (don't worry this isn't the end ;).**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer! I own nothing but the plot/story-line! :'(**  
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With every step Ed took away from Roy, he grew all the more nervous. It had been so long since he had been alone with Envy, and he'd been so much more happy around Roy than he could remember ever being when around his boyfriend. But then, that's why he was on this walk with the larger boy wasn't it. He'd decided a few days after he'd started hanging out with Roy that, he didn't hold any romantic feelings for Envy anymore. He'd actually been feeling this way since the abuse started, somewhere in him anyway.

Envy hadn't always been like this though. They first met in an advanced science class at around the beginning of their last year of middle school. The first thing the green haired boy did was make fun of Ed's height, calling him "pipsqueak", causing him to hate the taller boy almost immediately. All the rest of that day the little blond was either ranting about him to Alphonse, Roy, or Winry, or he was sulking.

One day, however, they were assigned to be lab partners for a long term project the class was doing on biology. After a few days at each other's houses for work time reasons, each boy eventually saw how cool the other could be. The taller boy was fun to argue with, good a bit of a prankster, a little funny at times, and even a bit of a looker in Ed's eyes. Envy too, saw Edward in an interesting light. The little blond was strong, smart, fun to mess with, and even a little cute. By the end of the project due date the two boys were pretty good friends.

Ed introduced Envy to Alphonse, Winry, Ling and even his freshman friends who were in high school Roy, Riza, Meas (Hughs), Alex (Armstrong), and the rest. They all hung out together after that. The green haired boy had officially become part of their group. Their big, rowdy, obnoxious, slightly awkward looking group, and that's how they liked it. That was how Ed had liked it. They were all like a second family to him.

It wasn't until their freshman year of high school that Envy asked Edward to go out with him, and obviously Edward had told him yes. He was a pretty good guy after all, and he'd come to terms with his dating preference for other guys a while ago.

The two of them managed to have, what they thought to be a nice, loving, successful relationship for about half the school year. Sure there were a few homophobes here and there, but neither of the two boys really paid much attention to them. Their high school was pretty excepting so they weren't really bullied over their relationship. The others were okay with it too so that made it all the more easier.

However, it was about the time school picked up again after winter break that things started getting bad.

Their first day back, Envy brought to Ed's attention exactly how much "alone time" they'd had together (not that kind of alone time yah pervs!), which wasn't a whole lot. All throughout winter break, and pretty much their entire time as boyfriends, they never really did any "couples stuff". Sure they'd held hands, hugged, and even exchanged a few pecks on the cheek, but that was all. They hadn't even gone out on a date yet!

That, according to Envy, was because they'd spent way too much time with the group and not enough time with each other. After thinking about it for a bit, Edward figured his boyfriend maybe right. He found, however, that he didn't mind it so much. But the taller blond seemed to be pretty upset about it and he didn't want to lose his first boyfriend because of something like this. So when Envy had suggested they start hanging out, just the two of them for a while, he hesitantly agreed.

That was only the beginning and Edward's first mistake.

All the rest of that school year he'd spent nearly every waking moment with his boyfriend. Every time a friend called to make plans to meet up with him, he'd have to tell them that he already had plans with Envy. It was like this every single time. Eventually the calls grew less and less frequent. Not that they stopped (they were still his friends after all, they'd keep trying) they only happened once in a while now.

One day, sometime during summer vacation, Ed decided it was about time he'd spent some time with his friends. He'd missed hanging out with them. All that day he'd thought about it and then went to his boyfriend's house. He brought his feelings with Envy and told him that they'd have to reschedule their "daily dates" (as the others had come to call them) because he wanted to hang out with his friends that day. This left Envy a bit...upset. He didn't much like the idea of his boyfriend making a decision like this without him, and he said as much.

This eventually sparked an argument, and that's when it happened.

Edward was in the middle of yelling at his boyfriend telling him that he "didn't control my life!" when suddenly -

WHAM!

Next thing the little blond knew he was laying, back first, on the floor of his boyfriends room holding a sore cheek. The boy's eyes wide in utter shock. His lover standing above him, glaring daggers.

Before Edward could say anything, he felt rough lips crushed against his in a painful kiss. A kiss, that Ed didn't return. He simply lay there,unsure of what to do. It was, after all, their first kiss. Making it Edward's first kiss in general.

When Envy pulled away, he pulled the stunned, silent, boy into his arms. Ed was sure the hug was meant to be soothing, but the way the taller boy's arms were wrapped so tightly around the smaller one's torso... It seemed more possessive than caring.

"I'm sorry," Envy said softly, "I didn't want to hurt you, but *his grip got tighter, causing Ed to wince a bit* I don't like the thought of you wanting to be away from me. We're boyfriends now Ed. That means that I belong to you, and _you _belong to _me_ now, right? I don't see what's not to like about that or our time together. It hurts me Edward. Don't you want to be around me?"

That made all of Ed's previous emotions trickle away and let guilt settle in. Was that how he really felt? That Ed didn't want to be around him anymore? That wasn't how he wanted him to feel at all! What kind of boyfriend was he, making his own lover feel this way? Gingerly he wrapped his own arms around Envy in a much more gentle embrace.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "It's my fault for making you feel that way. I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

And so Edward forgave what would be the first of many acts of abuse dished out by his boyfriend. Blaming himself for it all. That was his second and among the most crucial mistakes he'd made.

After that, Edward never brought up the subject of his friends around Envy again. He still saw them around, and they still called occasionally. Once the school year started up again (now Ed, Envy, Ling and Winry's second year in high school, Al, Mai, and Fletcher's first, and Roy, Riza and the crews' third) they'd stop in the halls and talk for a bit, but Envy was always with him. Therefore, not much could be said. Not personally anyway. Besides everyone had grown to dislike Envy quite a bit and didn't like to be near him. They'd noticed he'd become quite...mean lately. He yelled at them and others for no apparent reason for crying out loud! A couple times, some people caught him yelling at Ed. They've pretty much hated his guts and kept the closest eye possible on him ever since. Not that they would tell Edward that. For some reason they didn't know, their friend was in love with that guy, so they'd be good friends and deal with it in respective silence.

The amount of arguments and beatings increased until it became routine. Everyday, Edward and Envy would hang out after school, and Ed would always end up doing something his boyfriend didn't approve of and he would get punished for it. Always returning home with at least five new bruises somewhere on his body. Sometimes there would be cuts too.

He never showed these to anyone though. Not even his brother. Al was really the only person in the group he ever really saw anymore. Not to mention he was the big brother, he couldn't appear weak in front of the person who looked up to him. Besides, he deserved everything he got.

At least, that's what he used to think.

After spending so much time with his old friends again and that whole talk with Roy, he realized this wasn't right. If you loved someone, really loved someone, you wouldn't treat them this way! You'd make them feel better when you're around each other, not worse. You'd make sure that they felt wanted, and cared for, and special! Just like... just like the way Roy made him feel...the way he didn't feel around Envy now. Which was why he was here.

That realization was the reason he was walking alone with Envy. Why he stopped on the side of the city sidewalk, making the other boy stop too. It was that very realization that what they had wasn't love anymore. It gave him the courage that had yet to be beaten out of him to look Envy in the eye and say, "I think it's time to break up."

**A/N: BWAHAHA! Imma gonna be a bitch and end it here. But I promise that the next chapter will be uploaded much sooner than this one was. Again SOOO sorry about how late the update was, lots of technical and family difficulties.**  
**So, yeah tell me what you think of this one please, I'm actually rather proud of this chapter. Also if you have the time could you take the poll that's on my profile please? It's about what My next Roy/Ed story should be like and I'd like to know your preferences ASAP!**  
**Thanks again to all the reviewers, followers, and favorite(rs?). Without you there would literally be no story :3**


	6. Chapter 6

"I think it's time to break up."

_Wait, what?!_

For a moment Envy just stood, frozen in place. Both boys still looking the other in the eye; except, Envy's focus didn't seem to be on Ed. In fact, he didn't look very focused on anything! The boy simply stood, staring blankly at the smaller one. Neither one said a thing.

Finally seeming to snap back into the real world, Envy broke the silence with a small chuckle. This soon turned into a loud, confidant, all out laugh. Laughter that grew so bad the boy had to bend over and hold his stomach, leaving Edward standing tall and very confused.

Envy's laughing fit dyed down before too long, and he stood to his full height again.

"That's funny pipsqueak(now Ed's pet name)," he said smiling, "and the way it came all sudden like that *he snickered a bit more* I thought you were serious."

_He thought I was joking?_

Edward, struck dumb by the fact that what he'd said was taken as a joke. Was it so hard to believe? Did Envy, himself, not see this coming? Did his own boyfriend not think him capable of such a thing as breaking up with his tormentor? Then again, this was Envy. The one he'd trusted with his heart and only ended up hurting him..._that bastard!_

The situation only served to help the twinges of fear inside him turn to anger. How could someone who's known him so long think so little of him?

The anger within him gave him courage. A spark of a long ago fire thought to be extinguished a while ago burned in Edward's eyes once more. In a much more firm tone, he said, "I wasn't joking Envy, I mean it. I'm breaking up with you."

Edward watched as all mirth slipped from the green haired boy's face until Envy's's expression was clearly showing his anger. But Ed was still on his rage induced high of sorts, and didn't notice. So, much like a ball rolling down a steep hill does, he continued on.

"I'm sick of this Envy. I'm tired of allowing myself to be pushed around and beaten by you! I've tried to ignore it for us, I really have! Through all the punches and kicks a part of me still held feelings for you, but I can't do it anymore. I want to be happy Envy, and that's the one thing I'm not around you lately...or at all really!"

Edward then huffed, turned in the direction of his house, and began walking. Envy simply stood in place, fuming with a heated anger, still processing what Ed had said. It wasn't until Edward was a few feet in front of him, did the taller teen realize he was walking away.

"Who will you go to!" Envy shouted after him, "Who will you have to love you if not me Ed?!"

This caused Ed to stop and face his, now ex-boyfriend again.

"What I do now is none of your business anymore Envy. I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore."

"You're wrong Edward!"

Suddenly Ed felt strong hands clawing at his shoulders. A _very_ angry Envy now stood in front of him.

"You're mine Edward! You became mine when we started dating and you'll always be mine!"

The little blond brought his own arms up in attempt to get the ones holding him in place to let go. He also began to squirm a bit.

"No I'm not! I'm a human being damn it! You can't treat people this way!"

At Ed's struggling Envy smirked. An idea formed in his head, and without a word, he slammed Edward's body into the side of a tall, brick, building in an alley they'd passed in front of.

"No Ed you're not," he said in a sickening sweet voice, "you're a disappointment. That's why your daddy left you know."

That got Edward to be still. He froze completely and looked up at Envy. The taller boy's face held a look of false pity while his own, Ed was sure, was confused.

"What?"

"Your father. You said he left you guys when you were what, 3? 4?"

"S-shut up!"

"He left you and your little brother. Your mother was heartbroken right? She was clinically depressed for how long again?"

"I said shut up bastard!"

"Alphonse was still so young when it happened. Practically still a baby! If your father left for any reason, and there has to be one, it could be sweet little Al."

"Stop it!"

"And he was obviously happy with your mother. They were married and never fought once right? So they _had _to be happy together."

Tears were now welling up in Edward's eyes. He began to struggle once again.

"Please Envy, stop. Just stop it!"

But he didn't. He only smirked as he, once again, slammed Edward's back into the side of the huge, brick building. Stopping the little blond's movement immediately. Then he leaned down so his face was directly in front Ed's.

Sticking his tongue out, Envy slowly licked a warm, salty tear sliding down _his_ blond beauty's face.

"I guess that only leaves you," he whispered, "You are the reason your father left. You drove him away."

"No," more salty tears glided down Ed's cheeks.

"You were just too much of a handful. Too much of a disappointment."

Slowly, Envy pulled back his head to fully face the crying blond.

"You weren't good enough."

That was too much. Edward lowered his head and began sobbing. He felt Envy bringing both his arms above his head. He felt the other teen hold them both tightly in one hand. He was just too distraught to care. These thoughts had run through his own head a few times, but it was different hearing it from someone else. Someone who he was once so close to. Hearing his very thoughts said back to him made them seem...real.

With his other hand, Envy brought the down cast boy's face to meet his own. He then brought his face forward and forcefully clashed their lips together. It didn't matter to him that Ed began trying to pull away, he firmly held the small blonde's face still so there was no worry.

To Ed it seemed forever before the other finally pulled away. Had their kisses always been so painful?

"Your own father left you Edward," Envy spoke again, "If even _he_ can't stand to be around you, what makes you think anyone else can?"

Edward didn't answer. He just sobbed as Envy watched the fat tears spill from the boy's eyes.

Envy brought his hand out from under Ed's chin and stroked his cheek in a deceivingly gentle way.

"Who could love someone like you?" he taunted in a soft voice, "No one. No one but me Ed."

Ed's tears came out faster at these words than ever.

'_He's right' _Ed thought '_Why would anyone want me? I'm so weak. I drove my own father away and allowed my own boyfriend to abuse me. It's pathetic...I'm pathetic...'_

Just then, an image flashed through his mind. A boy, about a year older than himself, with black hair and matching charcoal was smiling. Smiling at Edward...as if he were happy to see him.

It was Roy! That's right, Roy was his friend, his best friend even if he'd never say it to the other's face. Roy...cared about him. Without warning, Ed saw another boy was standing beside Roy. It was Alphonse, his sweet, innocent little brother. He, too, was smiling at him.

Before he knew it, Ed could see everyone, Winry, Ling, Riza, Lan Fan, Maes, Jean, Alex (Armstrong) the entire group! They all looked so happy. Happy to be rid of him? No, happy to see him! They liked being around him, and he missed being around them. Being around people who didn't treat him the way Envy did. Edward knew they cared about him. He'd been around and made such strong bonds with each of them for years there was no way they couldn't or they would've left already, right? They would've given up on him when he'd started spending all that time with his "boyfriend".

The tears stopped coming, he felt his heart seem to swell, and the sadness and self loathing melted away. Once again, Edward felt a surge of strength and courage flow through him.

"You're wrong," he said, "I do have people who care about me. It's true I often blame myself for that bastard leaving us. You might even be right. I may very well be the reason he isn't around anymore. But I still have a mother and brother who love me, and friends who I would do anything for. Who the hell do you have?! Without me what friends do you hang out with?"

Envy began to get angry again. His fake sympathetic look flashed into one of intense rage.

"You're parents are hardly around Envy! If it weren't for me you'd be the one all alone!"

With a feral growl, the larger boy's hand swiped suddenly to the side. Effectively bringing Ed's arms with it, throwing him onto the cold, concrete that was the ground. Causing Ed to wince in pain as his entire left side was scraped roughly.

Before he could even move, Ed felt himself on his back with Envy straddled uncomfortably on top of him. He tried to move his arms, but they were trapped under the other boy's legs! Frantically, he kicked his legs, and squirmed. Trying anything to get out of this vulnerable position!

Ed suddenly felt a giant force hit his right cheek as his head snapped to the left. There would be a bruise there later, he thought on reflex. Another fist collided with the poor blonde's face. Then another, and another. All while Envy shouted, "No! You're mine damn it! I'm all you have! No one else loves you! I won't let them!"

All he could feel was pain. The courage he'd built up before was literally being beaten out of him. That small spark dimmed once again. Ed didn't even attempt to fight back or even move. He simply did what he'd always done, and just lay still, taking the blows one by one. Just when he felt like he was about to pass out, the punches stopped coming, and he felt the weight on his front disappear completely.

He tried to sit up and see what was going on, but he soon figured that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. So Edward settled for flipping himself onto his aching front, and turning slowly, painfully to face the confrontation he could hear sounding not too far away.

Ed noted that it was only a few feet in front of him. He saw Envy fighting with another boy. The same boy, he assumed, had saved him just now. Wait! He knew that boy!

It was the same boy who he'd known for years. The boy who'd comforted him and always had a comeback for any comment Ed made. The very same cocky, emotionally bankrupt, boy with a god complex who he'd told about what was going on with Envy in his bed room one night that seemed forever ago already. His savior was none other than the one Edward now knows had always been there for him, and was the very same boy Ed realized he'd held feelings for. His best friend...

"Roy!"

**A/N: Hello again. As I've said before quite a few times, sorry for the wait, and thank you for sticking with the story, I really appreciate all you guys that follow, favorite, and review the story. It makes me so happyz X3. Also thank you guys who took the poll. There should only be about one chapter left to this story so anyone who wants to see a particular theme for my next Roy/Ed story needs to take the poll or PM me if you want a plot type that isn't in the poll.**  
**One more thing, I'm also thinking about writing up a FMA/Inuyasha crossover. It'll be another high school AU, but still anyone who reads this and watches those two shows or is even just interested in the idea please let me know what you think okay?**  
**Any-who, thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed the chapie, the next one will be up whenever I find the time to write it but it shouldn't be any longer than two weeks since that seems to be my "average up dating time".**


	7. AN

**Hey peoplez, it's crazyanimelover98 :3. Sorry, this isn't quite a new chapter, but I need your guy's opinion on something  
before I right the next chapter, please tell me what you think okay? So I've been thinking over the over all plot of the story  
and I found something that bothered me quite a bit. I'm not gonna delete this story or anything but I'm thinking about changing  
who Ed's abuser is. It's just I hate making Russell so out of character and evilly manipulative as I am. So I'm thinking about  
changing Russell to Envy, mainly for the manipulative...ness in the show and how much the abuser figure is in my story.**

**So could you please let me know what you guys think and if you all like the idea or have someone else in mind you think**  
**I should change Russell's character to and I'll take those into consideration. After a sufficient amount of reviews I'll start changing **  
**the names and maybe a few characteristics around and then get working on the next chapter. Thanks and sorry, again, that this**  
**isn't really a new chapter but I'll get to the next one as soon as this is settled**

***The chapters have now been changed, the newest one should be up in about a week (that's my goal anyway)**

**-until next time  
**

**Crazyanimelover98 :3  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey peoples. I know it's been a very long while since I last posted. At first it was due to a bunch of end of the year tests and projects, then my little plot bunny thought that it would be fun to sneak off and took me forever to find the darn thing, and then my laptop chose to just go completely afritz! But in the end it's all really due to my really bad habit of procrastinating...so...yeah. I'm sorry for the wait and I'll definitely work on my time management for future stories. But enough of this, on to the chappie! Thank you all for being so patient and waiting X3**

Roy was pissed.He was angry, enraged, upset, furious, resentful, and just all around not happy.

It had felt like forever before Roy had _finally_ caught up to Edward and Envy. Even then, he'd almost ran right past the alley they were in. The only reason he knew both boys were there at all was because of the shouting. The horrible sound of angry, possessive shouting that, Roy knew, could only come from Envy.

As he turned into the alley Roy watched as the green haired teen through the little blonde to the ground, straddle his stomach, and began to vigorously assault the boy's angelic face with his fists. He saw more tears slip through Ed's red-rimmed, golden orbs and slide down his already wet cheeks. Then Roy saw nothing, nothing but the red rage burning so very deep inside him. Before even he knew it Roy had knocked a pretty surprised Envy off Edward's front and began swinging his own fists at the damn palm tree.

Even when caught off guard, Envy was fast and managed to dodge every one of Roy's angrily launched blows flawlessly. He had yet, however, to make any effort to fight back. This boosted Roy's chance for an actual hit. Hits he wasn't actually getting due to his blinding hatred for the other boy clouding all logical thought. This little game of "Punch and Duck" could've gone on quite a bit longer if it weren't for the injured blonde laying a few feet away.

Edward knew his mistake, and regretted it the second the name slipped past his lips.

As soon as he shouted "Roy!", the ebony haired teen ceased his blind punches as he snapped his attention to Edward. The ire, clearly, leaving the other's expression. Envy saw the softness in the older teen's demeanor, and the look of pure anguish on his little blonde pipsqueak's face. Now it was his turn to be pissed off. Taking advantage of the other's momentary distraction, Envy landed a swift, powerful, right-legged kick to to Roy's jaw, forcing him to the ground.

Seeing this, Edward's breath hitched, and he tried to find the strength to help. Despite his efforts the pain proved too much. Knowing that he would only be a burden at this point, Ed was forced to merely watch the scene unfold.

Envy had caught Ed's attempt, and he leered at him. _Oh, he could have some fun with this_. He, then, turned his attention back to Roy who was now sitting up, but still on the ground. He'd take care of that.

In the blink of an eye Envy was in front of Roy again. His foot once again connecting with the other's face. This set the boy flying a few feet back.

"Roy," the green-haired teen said in a tone that, in any other situation, would be used to greet and old friend or loved one, and a smile that managed to look childish and deadly at the same time. "So nice of you to join us," this statement was followed by another, swift kick to the ebony-haired boy's gut. Envy, then, kneeled down to grab the dazed boy by his hair, bringing him to eye level.

"Although I can almost guarantee that Edward is far more happy to see you than I am right now," he spat.

"Envy," Edward spoke up through gritted teeth,"just leave him alone, he isn't part of this!"

At this Envy scoffed at this, "Of course he is, Pipsqueak, now pipe down," he turned his attention back to Roy, "the big kids are talking now."

Suddenly, Roy felt his face collide with the concrete ground, and he could swear he had felt a few hairs leave his head.

Still stuck in place, Edward noticeably winced as he watched his ex-boyfriend threw his crush face-first to the ground. He knew how that felt, and he knew Roy would be feeling that tomorrow.

_If he lives that long._

As much as Ed hated to admit it to himself, he knew that the little voice in the back of his mind spoke the truth. He knew that, if this kept up, Roy wouldn't last much longer. Filled with an overpowering sense of fear for Roy, and an even bigger urge to help him, Ed hefted himself off the ground.

Alerted by the little blonde's sudden movements, Envy once again veered his attention from Roy's fallen form to Edward's. When Ed began limping towards him,he began to chuckle, a low foreign sound that seemed out of place coming from the green-haired one's mouth. The chuckling escalated laughter, as if he had been told the funniest joke he'd ever heard. Envy just stood there and laughed, and laughed, and laughed. That was all Roy could hear from his position, was Envy's laughter. When, abruptly the laughing stopped.

Gathering strength from his aching body and looked up from the ground. To say what he saw shocked him would be a very large understatement. There, a mere foot away from where he lay now, Edward stood upright. His right arm out in front of him straining against the palm of Envy's hand which seemed to have just caught the small blonde's fist before it collided with his face. Roy was filled with raw surprise, awe, and admiration.

These feelings, however, were very short lived when Envy, the flexible bastard, brought one of his legs up to deliver a nimble blow to the beautiful blonde's head. Bringing him back to the ground.

"So, you want some more, hmm? Always the little attention whore, eh Pipsqueak?"

Envy proceed to kick Edward until his body was knocked into one of the alley's brick walls. Then he picked the blonde up by the stubborn braid with had somehow stayed in tact through all of this, and brought him, once again, back first onto the wall.

"Although," Envy said in an eerily playful voice, "I gotta say; I haven't seen this side of you in awhile, Pipsqueak." As he said this the hand that wasn't holding the little blonde by his golden locks started to move. The pale limb slid up under Edward's shirt causing him to shiver in disgust. Envy began to speak once more, this time leaning down to Ed's ear.

"I don't think I've ever wanted you more," he whispered, "Come on, let's show Roy who you really belong to."

At that moment, Envy's hand had made it to Ed's chest and progressed to pinch one of his nipples right as her began to lick the shell of the ear he was previously whispering in. All poor Ed could do was gasp a quiet "No" and try weakly to push the stronger boy away.

Roy saw all of this unfold from his position on the ground. For the first few words he could only stare in silent surprise, but was brought back to the situation when he heard Edward refuse the advances and saw him try to push the other away. He could see where this was going. Edward, Roy's beloved Edward was being raped...right in front of him. And he was useless to help.

_Oh hell no!_

The rage, and anger from before had returned. Powered by the fierce drive to save and protect the one who meant most to him in all the world, Roy rose, much like the fabled phoenix, and boy did he fly. Unlike when Edward moved to help Roy only moments before, Roy charged. Easily knocking Envy off of Ed's body once more, and now knocking him to the ground.

The scene of Envy sitting on top of Edward's chest was now being re enacted. This time with Roy sitting on top of a noticeably shaken Envy's torso. _Roy's_ thighs now trapping _Envy's_ arms to his sides. Now it was Roy mercilessly throwing angry punches at Envy's face. The green haired teen was screaming with every precisioned blow.

Red, iron smelling, liquid coated Roy's fists and still he kept throwing powerful punches. Even when the screaming ceased, he continued. He punched, and punched, and punched, and punched, and stopped. Stopped because a quiet, familiar and broken sounding "T-that's enough. It's over now..."

Two creamy-colored arms were circled around his chest. Roy, also felt something bury itself in the juncture where his shoulder met his neck. It was Edward, and he was crying. Roy could feel the tears seeping through his shirt. That wasn't all.

For the first time since he started, Roy noticed all the red stains. On all over his shirt, all over his fists, all over Envy's face. Had he done that?


	9. Chapter 9

_It has been two weeks now_.

_Two weeks since that day in the alley. Two weeks since Edward had tried to break things off with weeks since Roy had saved him by beating Ed's now ex-boyfriend within an inch of his life. _

_Two weeks since Edward saved the boy he loved from doing something that would've sent him past that point of no return._

_It has been a week, one whole week now, since Envy was officially pushed out of the picture. A week since Ed had finally told his mother, his brother, and his friends everything that has happened. Finally explained why it was he has been so emotionally detached from them for so long. A whole seven days since he had, at long last, truly been part of the group again. It has also been a week since he started dating his best friend, Roy Mustang. A week since the day he realized that he, Edward Elric, was physically, mentally, emotionally, and in every other way free of Envy._

_Forever._

Envy lived.

Soon after the _event_ in the alleyway, the two boys took Envy to the hospital. After being inspected themselves, Ed and Roy were told that the green-haired teen would, indeed survive, and that his wounds merely looked worse than they actually were (much to Roy's resentment). Though, of course, it was apparent that some damage _had_ been done. After that Envy just seemed to disappear. Exiting this tale, and his part to play in Edward Elric's life, perpetually.

The day Edward found all this out was the same day Roy Mustang became his boyfriend. It happened in the very place this story began. Inside Edward Elric's bedroom, on his bed with it's red sheets, blanket. and pillow covering. His mother was downstairs in the kitchen making dinner, which Roy was staying for, and Alphonse was hanging out at Winry's.

"It's over then," was Ed's response to Roy's news about his previous tormentor, "It's all finally done?"

Not too sure how to answer, Roy simply sat in his cross-legged position on Ed's bed quietly.

"Only if you are ready for it to be," came his reply startling Edward as well as himself.

" You have forgiven him, a long time ago," Roy continued, "Don't bother denying it. I know you too well. The second you saw him laying on the ground, being beaten as he used to beat you, you forgave him instantly. I know that's why you stopped me, Ed. I also know that, despite forgiving Envy...you haven't forgiven yourself yet."

Edward's already wide, golden eyes got even wider at that last statement.

"H-how, how did you-"

"I already told you. I know you too well Ed," Roy interrupted. "Envy never thought twice about hurting you, or anyone else for that matter. Never, even in the end, did he feel sorry for having the power over you that he knew he did. Yet you still forgave him for it. I didn't feel an ounce of guilt for pounding his face into the dust like I did. I felt...still feel like he deserved it and _so_ much more. I most likely would've done permanent damage had I gone on much longer. I was fully aware of this and still I kept punching. You knew, even then, that I wasn't sorry about what I was doing, and still you forgave me. Then you stopped me. But still, after all this time, you can't forgive yourself. You, the one person who has done no wrong, can't forgive yourself."

"Yeah," came Edward's suddenly calm reply, "what's your point?"

"I want to know why, Ed."

The blond was silent after that. Looking at the ceiling of his room, as he had

done so many times before, while he lay on his bed considering what his friend had said. Then, he sat up and looked Roy strait in the eye. Gold clashed with ebony looking for a lie, flaw, or uncertainty in the teen's eyes. After a few moments Edward said, "You really wanna know?" Not waiting for an answer to his rhetorical question, Edward quickly looked away once more.

"I could've prevented this," he said, "I could've stopped all of this from happening if had just done what a sane person would have done and broke things off the second things started going bad." Edward paused as he shifted himself into a loose-fitting fetal position, resting his head on his arms. "But instead I let it get too far. I allowed Envy to continue beating the crap out of me and treat me like some broken possession of his. I had even deluded myself into thinking I was happy. Now look what happened. I got you involved and you ended up getting hurt too. All because I was afraid. Afraid of being abandoned and alone."

By the end of Edwards confession, a few tears had begun to cascade down the boys face. Yet the boy's voice had somehow managed to stay clear and strong.

_Something that must've come from lots of practice_.

Without another thought, Roy took the, now surprised, crying teen into his arms for yet another gentle embrace.

Feeling the older teen's hand making comforting circles on his back, and the other hand lovingly petting his long, golden hair sent Edward over the edge. Tightly gripping Roy's shirt into his fists, he buried his face into the boy's chest and let go. Letting loose the tears he had held in since the attack in the alleyway and so much longer before that. Roy just held him close, not noticing or caring for the salty tears he felt seeping through his shirt.

Finally, after countless minutes of nothing but Edwards sobs filling up the room, he finally quieted down. Roy, then, gently lifted the blonde's head to face him. Ed's golden orbs were rimmed with red, Roy noted. Silently, the ebony haired teen began to wipe away the stray tears still slipping down Ed's cheeks and eventually resting his forehead on Edward's.

"You'll never be alone Ed," Roy said breaking the silence, "You've got your mother, who loves you very much. You have Alphonse who looks up to you and probably loves you even more than that. Then you have Winry, Ling, Riza, Maes, everybody, despite how much time has passed they still care about you too." Finishing that statement, Roy pulled back a bit so he could properly face Edward. "And you have me," Roy carried on, "we aren't going anywhere, Ed. We all care way too much about you to leave you now. We'll, **I**, will always be by your side from now on...if you''ll have me."

Left speechless by Roy's words, Ed responded the only way he knew how to in the given situation. All but jumping on him, Ed threw his arms over Roy's shoulders and connected their lips together.

Roy got over his shock quickly, wrapped his arms around Ed's waist and happily returned the kiss.

After a seemingly endless moments of bliss, the two boys realised they needed air, and begrudgingly pulled away from each other.

"So," Roy said breaking the silence once again, causing Ed to look up at him, "could I take that as a yes?"

Giggling had Ed answered, "Yep, you're mine now you emotionally bankrupt bastard with a god complex."

Laughing joyfully, the two teenagers connected their lips once more.

_And now, a week later, the two of them lay on Edward's bed side by side. The full moon shining on them through the window Ed had talked to Roy through the night he had told Roy his fast asleep, arms enfolding his little blonde boyfriend. As Ed watched his lover's calm, sleeping face tinted blue by the mixture of shadows and moonlight he couldn't help but smile._

_This is it, he found himself thinking, this is how it's supposed to be. _

_With that thought he snuggled closer to Roy's chest and fell asleep, the older teen's arm unconsciously holding him slightly tighter than before._

**A/N: FINALLY IT'S DONE! My god that took forever (I really am sorry about that you guys X/ ) but I've finally finished it! So, about that poll I put up, the results showed that more people wanted to see a Tangled FMA fic with the Roy/Ed pairing in it. I have actually been into Supernatural and Hetalia lately, and plot bunnies have just multiplied in my head so I won't be able to do any Roy/Ed fics until they settle down a bit, but that fic will surely be done...eventually. I'm, again, soooo sorry for the waits guys. I will really work on that for future stories. **

**I actually need some advice from any who are willing to answer in a review; I may end up rewriting the story at some point in the future. No major changes or anything just grammar and such. What do you guys think?**

**So, to put an end to this obnoxiously long author's note: Thank You so much to any and all who have stayed with me through the beginning. This was my first multi-chap fic, and I'm so grateful for your guys' feedback :3 So thank you and goodbye until my next story X3**


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